Glenn Beck 'hijacking' MLK anniversary

Glenn Beck, the Right-wing broadcaster, has been accused of "hijacking" the
legacy of Martin Luther King by staging a rally at the location of his "I
have a dream speech".

Glenn Beck, the Fox News commentatorPhoto: GETTY

By Alex Spillius in Washington

6:13PM BST 27 Aug 2010

Critics said Beck and his followers in the Tea Party were trying to "dishonour" King, the figurehead of America's civil rights and a hero to millions.

They ridiculed claims by the Fox News presenter that his purpose was to "reclaim the civil rights movement", which he said was an "abomination" that had been "distorted and so turned upside down".

The rally, which is broadly seen as a test of the Tea Party's strength, will take place on Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial, where King made the historic speech in 1963 that proved to be a turning point in black Americans' struggle for civil rights and legal equality.

Beck has said that the "Restoring Honour" event was also intended to pay tribute to America's military personnel and others "who embody our nation's founding principles of integrity, truth and honour".

He claimed the timing of the rally was not deliberate, but "divine providence". It comes two months ahead of midterm elections, in which his fans are fighting to help the Republicans recapture Congress from the Democrats.

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One of the most popular and wealthiest media figures in the US, Beck's many detractors say he thrives on spreading panic and stoking fear among his largely white audience of a nefarious communist plot led by followers of the first black president.

Also on Saturday, the Rev Al Sharpton, a leading black activist, will lead an annual commemoration of the King speech that will end a short distance from the Lincoln Memorial.

While defending Beck's right to stage his event, he said: "The Tea Party and allied conservatives are trying to break that national stance on justice and, in turn, break the crux of what the civil rights movement symbolised and what Dr King fought and literally died for."

Having predicted an audience of 100,000, Beck has turned the event into a test of his clout. In a bid to guarantee large numbers, he has invited Sarah Palin, the hottest ticket in the conservative movement, to speak.

Eugene Robinson, an African American columnist on the Washington Post, called the event "an exercise in self-aggrandisement on a Napoleonic scale".

"No puffed up blabbermouth could ever diminish the importance or impact of King's unforgettable words," he wrote.